Mountain High Resort opens for 2013-14 season

Mountain High Resort in Wrightwood welcomed holiday skiers and snowboarders Sunday morning for the first time this season.

The resort opened for the 2013-2014 season at 8:30 a.m. with up to five operating lifts. The lifts were packed and the slopes were covered with snow.

Thanks to last week's storm, the area has gotten more than a foot of new snow. The resort is also running its snow-making machines.

"This is fantastic. First to open in Southern California for the 17th year in a row, and we're on natural snow. This is amazing. This is going to be one of the best seasons on record," said Kim Hermon with Mountain High Resort.

By 10 a.m., more than 200 skiers and snowboards were suited and booted, ready to go. The lines were long, but once at the mountain top, it was all downhill from there.

With ski season underway, visitors are excited.

"We have a cabin here so we come here often. So, especially when it's snowing like this, we couldn't wait to get up here," said Shamo Youhanna of Chatsworth.

Some people didn't wait for the resort to open. A few families drove up the mountain on Saturday, parked their cars along the side of the road and started playing in the snow.

The snow is also a welcome sight for local businesses.

"It's very nice when it comes into town instead of being just at the mountain. We always love it. We always get a lot more people," said Casee Moore with the Evergreen Cafe.

Mountain High tickets are $45 for adults and $25 for children ages 7 to 12. Kids 6 and under can ski for free with a paying adult.